Back country or out of bounds skiing, such as telemarking, is a growing aspect of outdoor activities. In certain areas, back country skiers may have set up a well-known rope tow that includes an endless rope strung between two pulleys and extending along the slope of a hill. Typically, one of the pulleys is connected to a motor, wherein the motor drives the rope between the two pulleys. In operation, a skier approaches the lower end of the rope tow located near the bottom of the hill and physically grabs onto the rope, thereby propelling the skier up the hill. Although such an arrangement is effective at propelling a skier along the slope of a hill, it is not without its problems.
First, because the skier must grab onto the moving rope with either their bare or gloved hand, the friction associated with grabbing a moving rope oftentimes results in premature wear of the glove or burns to the hands. Additionally, because the skier is forced to hold onto the rope with their hand to propel themselves up the hillside, the entire drag load associated with being propelled by the tow rope is carried by the skier's hands. As a result, the skier's hands are often prematurely fatigued. Also, because the rope used in most common rope tows is large in diameter, it is not easily transportable. Further, when the skier grabs onto the rope, there is a sudden jerking motion. This is undesirable because such a motion may cause the skier to fall. Finally, permanently attaching a well-known T-bar to the tow rope to propel a skier up the hillside is often impractical in the back country location due to the remoteness of the location and because such an apparatus requires large structure.
Thus, there exists a need for a relatively simple portable rope tow device for back country skiers.